Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

God In The Machine: A New Structural Analysis Of Copyright's Fair Use Doctrine, Matthew Sag

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Recognition of the structural role of fair use has the potential to mitigate some of the uncertainty of current fair use jurisprudence. The statutory framework for fair use both mitigates and causes uncertainty. It mitigates uncertainty by providing a consistent framework of analysis the four statutory factors. However, when judges apply the statutory factors without articulating or justifying their own assumptions, they increase uncertainty. The statutory factors mean nothing without certain a priori assumptions as to the scope of the copyright owner's rights. A more stable and predictable fair use jurisprudence would begin to emerge if those assumptions were made …

The Downhill Battle To Copyright Sonic Ideas In Bridgeport Music, Matthew S. Garnett

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Note argues that the bright-line rule announced in Bridgeport Music should not apply where the disputed digital sample appropriates only the "sonic" ideas of the original work. The main thrust of this argument is that the Sixth Circuit's holding in Bridgeport Music is inapplicable where the disputed copying is a protected exercise of "fair use" reverse engineering; that is, where copying is necessary to appropriate the "sonic" ideas embodied in the sampled work.

Part II of this Note presents a brief history of digital sampling, including its application in the Hip-Hop musical genre. Part III presents a walkthrough of …